LeBron James endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election in a video posted to X on Thursday accompanied with the caption: “What are we even talking about here?? When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!”
The video was a compilation of xenophobic, anti-immigrant and violent rhetoric from former President Donald Trump along with photos and video from the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter protests.
What are we even talking about here?? When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!! pic.twitter.com/tYYlTmQS6e
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 31, 2024
Thursday’s endorsement video opens with a clip of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at the Trump campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The video then transitions to soundbites of Trump encouraging violence, accompanied by photos of people waving Confederate flags.
The video ends with a snippet from a 1989 interview with Larry King in which Trump discusses the “Central Park Five” case.
“Of course I hate these people, and let’s all hate these people, because maybe hate is what we need,” Trump said. Five Black and Latino men were convicted of assaulting a White woman in April 1989, however, the men were exonerated in 2002 and are currently suing Trump for defamation over comments made at the presidential debate in September.
The video, specifically made for James’ endorsement by Holland West Productions, according to a source close to the player, ends after that clip with the words “hate takes us back” written on the screen.
James has a long history of political activism, including hosting a free concert for Barack Obama in 2008, campaigning for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and endorsing Joe Biden in 2020. James also founded More Than A Vote in 2020, a nonprofit focused on protecting and advocating for the rights of Black voters.
This election cycle, a group of NBA and WNBA players have continued to use the organization to advocate for voting rights.
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(Photo: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
